MusiLLection

Raised by parents who knew and could appreciate the good and the beautiful and possessed the pretense to properly cultivate them, Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy lived a comfortable and balanced life, which allowed him to serve variously and with dedication the art of music. The uninterrupted life that ensured him family well-being, as well as the broad education he acquired, helped him to ideally develop his artistic gifts, so that he became one of the most popular composers of his time. As well as being a great composer, he was an excellent pianist, a good violonist, a wonderful organ player and an inspirational conductor. There were many happy times for the German musician who saw his music conquer foreign places, while he remained persistently faithful to the musical tradition of his land. Nevertheless, he accepted well-intentioned the beneficial effects of the natural environment which he observed and measured with combinations of his feelings in his numerous journeys an...

from Book 5, Op. 62 The term "Song Without Words" was introduced by Mendelssohn to describe a solo piano that employs a singing melody accompanied by bass (left hand). He published eight books with such "Songs" over a period of thirteen years. What we present here comes from the Fifth Book published in 1843. Mendelssohn wrote a total of 48 compositions of this kind. These are familiar miniatures that were written to be played in the evenings at friendly gatherings. Mendelssohn deliberately wrote these songmelodies without words, because he thought words would limit the emotional wealth he wanted to express. This short work, written in 1842-4, is a dark and imposing mourning march. Perfectly crafted and measured, it conveys a sense of gentle melancholy and like almost all of these pieces, it is unpretentious and sincere.

Handel was an eccentric composer, preferring the passionate cheers of a full opera room, rather than the polite applause of a palace hall. Maybe because chamber music didn't fit his temperament, he didn't compose many such works. These four concertos (from a group of six) came from a combination of works composed in 1734 to celebrate the wedding of Princess Anne, the daughter of King George II, Handel's employer. At the time, Handel was going through a critical period in his career as an opera impresario, due to the diminishing interest of his audience and the cancellation of lucrative contracts. Probably the composer published the concertos for financial reasons. Concerto Grosso No.1: However, these works in no way give the impression of accidental collation for speculative reasons, but instead have grace and are real works of art, which only imperceptibly testify to their true origin - from earlier compositions. For example, the third part of concerto No. 2 - the fugue -...

Orchestral: Rhapsody in Blue Concerto in F for piano and orchestra An American in Paris Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra Cuban Overture Variations on "I Got Rhythm" Piano works: Three Preludes Musicals Theatre credits: George White's Scandals Primrose Lady, Be Good! Tell me More Tip-Toes Funny Face Girl Crazy Of Thee I Sing The Rainbow Oh, Kay! La La Lucille Musical Films: Shall We Dance? A Damsel in Distress The Goldwyn Follies The Shocking Miss Pilgrim Opera: Porgy and Bess Songs: Swanee The Man I Love Embraceable You The Way You Look Tonight I Got Rhythm Oh, Lady Be Good! It Ain't Necessarily So Summertime

Maurice Ravel conducting the orchester, probably at London's Queen's hall on April 14th, 1923. 1875  Maurice Ravel was born   on March 7 in Cibourne, near the French-Spanish border. 1889   Became a student at the Conservatory of Paris. 1895  He writes the first major works, Habanera and Menuet antique (first published work). 1905   Fails for the fourth time to win the Grand Prize of Rome. 1909   Completes his first opera, "The Spanish Hour" . 1912   Completes his first ballet, "Daphnis et Chloe" . 1915   Enlisted as a guide in the French army. 1917   His mother dies. 1925   Completes the opera "The Child and the Spells" . 1928   First tour of the United States, composes "Bolero" . 1932   Car accident interrupts his synthetic activity. 1937   Dies on December 28 in Paris after brain surgery. Because of Ravel's almost ideological attachment to the detail of the composition, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky call...

Telemann's talent of composing beautiful religious cantatas coexisted with his ability to write simple, folk melodies, of which Don Quixote is an excellent example. Telemann infuriated many people with compositions, including the Don Quixote orchestral suite. In his days it was a rule tat composers of religious music did not engage in profitable complementary works, such as the composition of "light" music. The followers of tradition believed that anyone who was able to commit such frivolity could not be serious about his religion. But Telemann was definitely serious. His cosmic works were humorous, but Don Quixote conveys his message as convincingly as any of his religious works. Don Quixote was completed in 1761 proving that the composer's talent for creating beautiful melodies, did not dry up over the years. Fighting the windmills This suite has seven parts. Inspired by the Spanish writer Cervantes' famous novel Don Quixote , it recounts a day of the life of...

In his short passage from the earth - he lived for only thirty-seven years - Georges Bizet never tasted the happiness of success. Yet this admiredly gifted composer also possessed a work, the opera Carmen , which was meant to be one of the most popular music compositions. The constant compromises he was forced to make have certainly been an obstacle to the enjoyment of the popularity he deserved. His opponents outnumbered his supporters. But considering that Nietzsche proposed Bizet's music as an antidote to the sonic rationality, dogmatism and meticulousness of Wagnerian lyrical dramas, we understand that the acceptance or rejection of the French composer's music was primarily a matter of not as much objective value and assimilated disposition as prejudices and antagonisms. In his short and not particularly bright life, some relatively time devoted to primary musical creation. He did not make the most of his abilities and facilities, but composed music full of freshness and c...